PARTITION SALES – PART 2 RESULTS FROM ACTUAL CASES

Following-up on last week’s Article on Partition Sales, today’s Article, Part 2, will focus on several actual Partition cases that BPE Law attorneys have handled and are handling for our clients. As always, if you have any questions about your real estate, business, estate planning, or any other legal issue, please let us know by e-mailing me at kbdunnagan@bpelaw.com.

Also, remember that we do legal presentations for business and community organizations. If your group would like this, please contact me or Steve to setup a date and time.

By Steve Beede, BPE Law Founder / Counsel
Many times, legal articles appear to be abstract and theoretical talking about what could happen if a certain set of facts occurred. While that does provide legal guidelines, sometimes it is helpful to see how the law actually applied in real life situations.
The following will show you what has happened in actual Partition cases in which we represent a co-owner. The identities of the parties have been concealed to protect their privacy. This is just a sampling of cases we are handling and all are BPE Law matters in which sale has been compelled or is in the process.

1. San Francisco Building
Our client was one of several siblings that inherited a highly valuable downtown building. All of these new owners had competing ideas on what to do with the property… only one sibling wanted to keep it and the others wanted to sell. When the hold-out refused to go along with a sale, our client came to us for help. Using the law of Partition, we first served a Demand to Sell upon the hold-out and when he still refused, we filed suit for Partition and Sale in San Francisco. We subsequently obtained an Order forcing the sale of the Property through listing with a Licensed Realtor and our client came away with over $1 million in sale proceeds.

2. Danville Property
This was a second case for the same clients concerning a property in Contra Costa County. We went through the same process which is expected to yield the same result. The matter is currently set for a Summary Judgment hearing to compel the sale. Meanwhile, a possible buyer has been obtained and we’re negotiating a resolution to end the litigation and let the sale go through.

3. Loomis Property
Our client co-owned a property with a person who inherited his late brother’s interest. Our client wanted to sell but the co-owner could not be located. After sending a Demand to Sell to her last known address, we filed a lawsuit for Partition in Placer County Superior Court. We then served the lawsuit on the missing co-owner by publishing the Summons in a newspaper and within 30 days were able to take her Default. We then obtained an Order allowing our client to sell the Property and execute any sale document on behalf of the missing co-owner. A buyer was subsequently obtained, the sale was completed, and in the accounting phase, all of the legal and court costs were reimbursed to our client from the missing co-owner’s share of the sale proceeds. Since we still could not locate the missing co-owner, we submitted her remaining share of the proceeds to the Court to hold them. Interestingly, after the sale was completed and the funds were distributed to our client, the missing co-owner showed up and sought to undo the sale. The Court refused her efforts and fully approved our client’s rights and his recovery.

4. Folsom Property
Our client and her then boyfriend purchased a Property in the early 2000s. Though their relationship later ended, their obligations on the Property loan and costs continued. Our client wanted to end the negative cash flow by selling the Property through a short sale but ex-boyfriend refused. So, after making a Demand for Sale, we filed suit in Sacramento Superior Court and, in September, obtained a Judgment ordering the Property to be sold. While there was no sale proceeds to be gained by our client, enabling the short sale to occur stopped our client’s negative cash flow and avoided the risks of a foreclosure and possible deficiency judgment, debt forgiveness taxes, greater credit damage, and possible job risks.

Do you or your clients need this assistance? BPE Law Attorneys are very experienced with real property issues including Partition Sales. Actual legal proceedings can be very complex although a great many resolve once a lawsuit has been filed and the reluctant owner realizes that the selling owner is serious.

For over 20 years, the attorneys of BPE Law Group, P.C. have been assisting our clients with their real estate, business, and other legal needs. If you have questions concerning real estate, business, or any other legal matter, give us a call at (916) 966-2260 to schedule a Consultation with one of our experienced attorneys or email Keith at kbdunnagan@bpelaw.com.

This article is not intended to be legal advice, lending advice, or a specific recommendation of any particular lender or company, and should not be taken as such advice.